Political drama as Iran’s president has warned that it could restart its nuclear programme “within hours” if the United States imposes any new sanctions. Hassan Rouhani also said the programme would be more advanced than in 2015, when Iran curbed its nuclear activities as part of a deal with world powers. At the same time, an Iranian court has frozen the assets of more than 150 BBC Persian staff in the country, in what the British broadcaster is calling a “targeted attack.”

Over in Iraq, the governor of the country’s oil rich city of Basra has allegedly fled to Iran amid allegations of corruption. Majid al-Nasrawi stepped down from his role as governor of Basra before fleeing to neighboring Iran. Nasrawai is the highest ranking public figure to be investigated for alleged corruption since Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was elected in 2014.

Lastly, Archaeologists have discovered three tombs that date back around 2,000 years in southern Egypt. They were found in burial grounds in the Al-Kamin al-Sahrawi area in Minya province, south of Cairo. The tombs contained a collection of different sarcophagi, or stone coffins, as well as clay fragments.